Évora’s Identified Skeletal Collection and Hospital Records: Contributions to Medical History
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https://doi.org/10.57849/6n38q682##semicolon##
Paleopathology##common.commaListSeparator## Identified Collections##common.commaListSeparator## Hospital Archives##common.commaListSeparator## Human Skeletons##common.commaListSeparator## History of Disease##article.abstract##
Identified osteological collections and hospital archives are crucial resources for the study of the History of Medicine, as they allow for an understanding of the evolution of diseases, medical practices, and living conditions over time. While clinical records document diagnoses, treatments, and causes of death, identified skeletal collections make it possible to correlate this information with skeletal changes, thereby enriching paleopathological and historical interpretation.
The Évora Identified Skeletal Collection comprises 208 individuals (105 females and 103 males) who died between 1870 and 1993, most of whom were born and resided in the Alentejo region. Analysis of the records from the Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora identified 97 individuals with at least one hospitalization episode, and to date, 27 complete medical records are currently under study.
The systematic integration of osteological and clinical data provides insights into disease patterns, therapeutic developments, and mortality, highlighting how identified skeletal collections contribute to the History of Medicine not only as sources of biological data, but also as testimonies of medical practices and everyday life in specific historical contexts.
